Is it too late to trim off some bines? And..

Hey All, i was wondering if it's too late to trim off some of the bines around the bottom of these plants? I have plenty trained and climbing just fine, and don't really have anywhere else to send them. I realize now that i should have started trimming them back earlier, but this is my first year trying to grow them and i didn't expect this much growth.

Also, my Centennial are already producing cones. Is this too early? I was reading on an earlier post about the plant not getting enough nutrition if the leaves are browning a bit and if it's flowering already. The cones are looking nice, but the bines are only about 9' right now.


Thanks
Sully

It is never too late to trim stray bines and unsightly/damaged leaves. Of course, the trimmed bines won't produce cones - than again - the root system doesn't have to waste energy keeping them alive. Overall, the plants health shouldn't be affected.

Just be sure to use clean, sharp equipment and be careful and not damage the bines that you want to keep.

Good to know, thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

I generally don't trim first or even second years much. They will use those leaves to store energy into the root system, which is critical the first couple of years. After that they are almost impossible to kill.

Cones at this point should be expected on some varieties, depending on where you live, health of the plant, your care and feeding, etc. I am about to pick cones off one of my plants and should get two harvests from it as it is a monster.

After the second year, best advice for the plant's health is to trim back to a few bines per plant/string. After it is >10 feet tall, you can also trim back the lower leaves to disuade bugs and limit mildew.

Growing in pots like that will eventually require you to trim the root ball as the plant is going to want to grow bigger than that pot. Options are trim it back periodically based on individual growth, or plant it in ground.

Best of luck!